Space News by Sandra Erwin — July 17, 2019
The anomaly in an upper stage component was detected during a routine mission assurance check.United Launch Alliance on July 17 announced the Delta 4 launch of an Air Force GPS satellite scheduled for July 25 will be delayed until at least August 22. This follows a July 11 announcement that the Atlas 5 launch of the Air Force Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite planned for July 17 was rescheduled until no earlier than August 8.
In both announcements, ULA said the delays were “due to an anomaly during component testing at a supplier which has created a cross-over concern.â€
ULA on Wednesday confirmed that the anomaly was in a component in the upper stage which is common to both vehicles and thus affected both the Atlas and the Delta launches. The announcements cited a “cross-over concern†because any testing anomalies in the upper stage of the Atlas would require additional testing for Delta as well.
More:
https://spacenews.com/atlas-5-and-delta-4-launch-delays-caused-by-common-component-in-upper-stage/
